Gillen Portfolio 2017

GRACE GILLEN 2017 PORTFOLIO

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Wrapping up the workshop

Taping ankles, learning lower leg anatomy, and splinting are just a few things biomed students practiced at the annual sports medicine workshop that took place in the auditorium on Feb 18.

The primary part of Saturday’s event was hands on, but Lora Stezler, head athletic trainer from State College of Florida, gave a lecture on lower leg anatomy to begin the morning.

“There is a lot of carryover into every branch of the medical field with what is being taught here,” Stelzer said.

Afterwards students were able to practice taping and splinting with various techniques in the gym.

To correctly tape an ankle, trainers must learn which ligaments they are trying to protect, as that determines the angle of the wraps.

“Especially with this field, we are learning a lot and actually doing the work to back it up,” freshman athletic trainer Stephanie Kingery said. “I’m definitely learning a lot from here that’s going to help me in college.”

Athletic training staff primarily ran the workshop, along with help from Perry “Doc” Revelett.

Other responsibilities of staff include supervising sports games and practices, taping up players and performing on the field evaluations, qualities that are a staple in the profession.

“The basic concepts (of athletic training) have stayed the same because we are still out there every day, doing what we need to on the fields­­­­­­­­­,” Kingery said.

Students in the general biomed program learn much more, ranging from lessons on diabetes and sickle cell disease to complex human anatomy and emergency medical services (EMS) procedures.

This necessary background information prepares students to make connections with professionals throughout their time in the program.

“More people begin to realize what you can do (and the skills we help students develop), so that opens a lot of opportunities for the students,” Revlett said.

The rapidly changing world of sports medicine and the medical field in general requires prospective applicants to be well versed not only in anatomy and sciences, but also in building personal connections.

“It’s easy to form connections with the people on staff, just because we are together all the time,” Kingery said. “Actually it’s sort of like being part of a family.”

ARTICLE REFLECTION

Corrections and feedback

In this article the purpose was to make the reader aware of a specific event, the sports workshop, and also allow them to understand the context of it in relation to University high school. I accomplished this by integrating quotes from both people directly involved in the event as well as asking questions that stem from creating a more generalized understanding of their roles.

To facilitate the overall flow of the article I used the quote strategy of introducing the speaker in a transition rather than in a direct quote. If I was to improve on this article I would order the information in a more coherent way, and provide stronger transitions that lack any superfluous facts.

Overall I believe the article informed the reader from a hard news standpoint while also presenting supporting details that enliven the story.

SELF EVALUATION

Section editor response 1. Oversees a group of staffers on a day-to-day basis

To effectively complete this goal throughout the year I have developed a specific way of interacting with my staffers. At the start of a cycle, I have them explain their angle, as well as their purpose to me in their own words, and sometimes we even decide a lead strategy that best suits the story. As we progress I make sure my writers know I am there to support them by asking daily what I can do to help make them better. This includes offering advice, getting photography, or simply listening to the phrasing of something.

2. In charge of progress towards deadlines

Making steady progress towards deadlines is a hallmark of good news production. By encouraging my writers to pursue perfecting their craft, I hoped to instill within them a drive for improvement. This worked to some extent, for a shorter period of time than I intended. Overall we maintained substantial progress towards deadlines, and if I was to change anything it would be that our cycles and things like that were more defined that way there would be less room for variable change or confusion.

PERSONAL ESSAY

What is a belief you had that has changed dramatically?

The pavement has turned into nothing more than a blur as my aimless feet continue to wander.

Through soaked socks the cold numbness of a suburban neighborhood creeps up behind me.

Glancing backwards I see nothing but a few dimly lit street lamps and a sole jogger.

I keep walking.

Eventually the somewhat hollow place I call home appears. Glossy lights illuminate the front door just enough for me to see it’s unlocked. By just looking at it, there’s nothing really spectacular about the home. Two stories, a main center window, painted a common off-brown color, just right to fit in with the rest of the street. A sloping driveway leads to a cluttered garage and the back door. This is the one I open, slightly at first, then sliding inside.

“Cody didn’t have a shift tonight,” I state to the nearly empty house.

“Go upstairs after you’re done with your chores,” came the dry response.

This time carpet bowed under my blackened feet as I waited for my dad. The carpet was nice, softer than the asphalt outside, but if i had my choice i would take the latter. Brown and light grey fibers caught between my toes, just as the sand did at the beach a few weeks ago. As I kept pacing, inevitably my mind began to wander just as my feet were.

Walking is said to be therapeutic in a way, if you focus on nothing while doing it. Clearing your mind to the beat of pounding soles is something I have become very accustomed to. The first time I appreciated how simple this technique is was in New Symerna. Driving through rain, traffic, and the interstate to get there had put more strain on me than expected. Still, we got there safely and soon I was free to do as I pleased. My dad stayed behind as I put my head down to study the closely packed sand.

Before long there was more beach behind me than in front. The water rushed by to tickle my toes as I made my way forward. In English walking has a very odd connotation. One rarely walks backwards, no matter where they’re going. I could walk back to the room and still be walking forward. This is just another peculiarity of the language but believe it also can hold metaphorical meaning. As I walked, feeling the cool sand slip beneath my feet.

I began to clear my mind from everything, the drive over, the recent conversations, the hopes and dreams, just to focus on the way my heel hit the sand exactly in time with my heartbeat. This takes time, but two miles later, the weight on my shoulders had substantially lifted.

“Did you see that,” my dad asked, matching my cadence perfectly. I was snapped out of my reverie with a stumble. He pointed forwards, out across the sea to a stunning reef beginning to materialize on the edge of a sandbar.

PERSONAL ESSAY

What is a belief you had that has changed dramatically?

On the ride home we chatted politely about how nice the whole trip was and that we should do it more often. Bits of sand and twigs caught beneath my socks and found their way to the floor of the car, but that was besides the point.

The air conditioning seemed to be incredibly cool, but since my dad was driving it was his choice to have it on or not. I dozed on and off, remembering the first time I had been able to calm my heart by finding a way with my feet.

The harsh fluorescent lights faded as we entered the frigid therapy group therapy room. Carlos stumbled into me and I turned around to roll my eyes at the little boy. He meant well, we all did.

Laid out on the ground was a labyrinth-like path with winding turns and five chairs in the middle.

I zoned out as an instructor explained what we were supposed to do.

“What’s so hard about following a path,” I mumbled to Carlos under my breath. His eyes twinkled back at me as he started on the white line. I was the last one to start and the whole thing seemed unnecessarily tedious. The center of the circle was mere feet away but the path always turned back on itself before reaching its ultimate destination.

But staying on the narrow, winding path took more concentration than anticipated. I discovered that by timing my steps to my heartbeat my entire movements became more coordinated.

This included my thoughts. After getting halfway through, no troublesome thoughts lingered for more than a footstep. When I touched the ground, there they were, but when I lifted my foot they had no power over me. So I continued the rest of the way through, eventually getting to the center.

And I kept walking. But after a while I found that the walking itself was far from the hardest part. In fact the challenge often lies in beginning.

Throughout this narrative, I have skimmed over the most integral part, and most people wouldn’t have even noticed.

Finding the true understanding of something can be difficult, especially when that understanding is prone to change. My understanding of peace and how to reach it has been changed by analyzing something as simple as walking. I now know from this reflection that it is not quite as unforgiving as cement, but also a stark contrast to the yielding sands.

It is the labyrinth, the winding narrow path that takes more effort to begin than to keep moving on. Because as my dad says things in motion tend to stay in motion and I’ve taken that to heart, even though it never fails that I’m the one to jokingly remind him of the secondary clause in Newton’s famous law.

EXTRA CREDIT

Spread analysis

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